


Remember Right Now

by bitsori



Series: Always, More [4]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Drinking & Talking, Gen, Male Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 00:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16565876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: “What you’re saying is,” Changbin says slowly, as he gives Woojin a strange look through the car’s rear view mirror, “—we don’t have actual plans.” He glances at Chan who is seated beside him, like he’s confused that the older has agreed to this.Chan, in response, just chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. “I kinda just got dragged along too,” he admits.“But where are we going?” Changbin keeps pressing anyway.“Wherever the night takes us,” Minho deadpans.--or: Four friends, a nice spring evening, and cold beer. (AU)





	Remember Right Now

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] Remember when I said I needed a break from this AU? It was a lie. Apparently, I have a few more stories set in it, left in me. This one takes place after [Destination: Tomorrow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16242797), but before [Lessons in Yearning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16385126). I was thinking about hyungline dynamics and discussing it with a friend, and I thought it was only fair that they have their own bonding experience similar to 00z and their road trip. (So yeah, the this and D:T can be considered companion stories, and it’s on purpose that the formatting is the same.)
> 
> [ 2 ] This was so much harder to write, despite being so much shorter. I feel like the hyungs are more subdued (especially with each other) compared to the loud playful bickering that 00z are always displaying, but! I tried.
> 
> [ 3 ] Minsung & Changjin are tagged only because they're established relationships from the other stories. They're not actually explored here, just mentioned.

  
  
  
  
  


08.34 PM

“Hello, Changbinnie?” All eyes are on Minho when they realise that Changbin has picked up the call from the other end of the line. “We’re outside your house right now,” He explains, “Get out a bag and pack clean underwear, a change of clothes and whatever the fuck else you need for a night out.”

“Wait, what—?” Changbin’s voice rings out through the phone just as Minho activates the loudspeaker option. “What do you mean?”

“Just do as I say, loser,” Minho demands with a laugh.

“Why should I?”

“Because I say so, obviously,” Minho shoots back using a teasing tone that just makes Woojin roll his eyes. Minho is one of his best friends, but occasionally he feels like the guy says things just to get a reaction from people, and by people, Woojin mostly means Changbin.

“You’re not the boss of—” Changbin begins to say, except he doesn’t get to finish because Woojin decides it’s time to interject if he wants the night to get going.

“Changbinnie? It’s Woojin.”

“Ah, hyung! Hyung—?” Initial confusion is quickly replaced with realisation that Woojin is with Minho in that moment. “I’m on speaker?”

“Just follow Minho’s instructions—” Woojin tells him, and from the passenger seat, Minho’s lips turn up to form a smirk, “—this once. Chan’s here, too.”

“Yo!” Chan pipes up from his seat in the back, as if to let Changbin know that he is, in fact, there as well.

The sound of feet shuffling echoes through the speaker, which makes Minho laugh for some reason. “Hurry, Changbinnie, or we’re leaving you!”

Changbin snarls through the mic, but it doesn’t take twenty minutes before they spot him rushing out of the house while yelling to his parents that he’s “Sleeping over at Woojin-hyung’s tonight!”

“No one said anything about sleeping at my place,” Woojin points out as Changbin throws himself into the backseat, next to Chan.

“I have no idea about anything tonight, hyung, that was the easiest thing to say if I didn’t want my parents questioning why I suddenly have last minute plans,” Changbin points out, while absentmindedly bumping fists with Chan. “So what  _ are _ we up to, tonight?”

  
  
  
  
  


09.08 PM

“What you’re saying is,” Changbin says slowly, as he gives Woojin a strange look through the car’s rear view mirror, “—we don’t have actual plans.” He glances at Chan who is seated beside him, like he’s confused that the older has agreed to this.

Chan, in response, just chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. “I kinda just got dragged along too,” he admits.

Minho turns in his seat so he can look at the two of them. “Jisung and the others had that whole road trip planned, so Woojin and I figured we deserve our own night out.”

There’s more to the story, of course, and Woojin assumes that Changbin, because he's more perceptive than he looks  _ or _ acts, picks up on it when he briefly goes silent after catching the quick exchange of knowing glances between Woojin and Minho.

“Yes, but where are we  _ going?” _ Changbin asks, and suddenly Woojin isn't sure if he's overestimated the younger's ability to read the atmosphere.

“Wherever the night takes us,” Minho deadpans, but he’s busy fiddling with something on his phone anyway.

“Okay, but where are we going?!” Changbin repeats, and beside him, Chan holds back a snort.

“Shut up for a minute because I’m trying to figure that out!” Minho tells him, pausing so he can wave his phone at Changbin, with Naver Maps open on display.

“I haven’t had dinner,” Changbin interrupts, after giving Minho’s phone screen a quick squint. “Can we eat first?”

“At this hour?!” Woojin feels personally offended. “You haven’t had dinner at this hour?”

“I was in the middle of something when you guys called, I was going to eat after I finished working on this project for school,” Changbin explains. “So can we get drive through somewhere?”

“Schoolwork on a Friday night?” Woojin laughs. “Nerd.”

“Wow, you dropped everything for us, huh?” Minho snickers, clutching his chest dramatically. “How touching.”

“Yes, cause I figured your little party here could use a little brightening up with my own brand of sunshine,” Changbin answers with a chortle.

“Or more like we needed a maknae to boss around,” Minho shoots back readily, and at this point, Woojin can’t help but let out a loud groan. He has a feeling he’s going to end up playing referee to these two all night, especially since Minho seems to be in quite a high tension mood. 

It wouldn’t be a problem, really, since he’s quite used to it after being friends with them both for over a decade already, except this little trip was supposed to be about other, more important things.

“Let’s get chicken to go with beer, then,” he volunteers before Minho and Changbin can go on with their bickering, his eyes briefly panning on an uncharacteristically quiet Chan through the rearview mirror.

  
  
  
  
  


10.13 PM

“Where are we?” Changbin asks, pressing his nose against his window as he squints outside to see if he can identify which part of the city when he realises that Woojin is finally pulling up to park somewhere.

“Are you a kid?” Minho asks, laughing. 

“Incheon,” Woojin answers. “Don’t start again, you two.”

“You’re telling me those four idiots made it all the way to Busan, but we barely just got out of Seoul?” Changbin grunts in disbelief.

“Well, they  _ did _ plan ahead,” Minho points out, and Woojin can hear a hint of pride and fondness in his tone as he goes on. “Jisung couldn’t stop about his Great Idea for an entire month before they even graduated.”

“Not to mention they have Seungmin to weed out idiotic suggestions that I’m sure were made,” Chan comments with a laugh, joining in the conversation for what feels like the first time the entire evening so far.

“Anyway—” Woojin chuckles, turning the engine off and unbuckling himself from his seat. “We’re here now, so get your butts out of the car!” He can’t argue because it really  _ is _ a poorly planned outing - there weren’t even any plans to begin with. It was an idea that he and Minho had come up, on the fly, just several hours earlier, and perhaps they could have put it off for another day, but there was barely any time, what with Minho needing to fly back to Japan early Monday morning.

“Next time we do this, let’s steal Seungmin for better planning,” Chan declares, and Woojin flashes a smile at him, glad that Chan at least seems to be in a better enough mood to be joking around with them.

The night weather is nice enough, with spring having fully settled in. The four of them make their way closer to the shore, where Woojin spreads out on the sand an old, ratty blanket that he’d grabbed from home at the last minute. It’s barely big enough for all for of them, and they all end up laughing as they try to squeeze in next to each other.

Woojin had enough presence of mind to remember to grab an electric lamp from home as well, but now, as he places it in the center of the blanket, he realises that he forgot to check if it still had batteries. Nervously, he quickly switches it on, and breathes a sigh of relief when it lights up. There are lamp posts littered across the beach, so it’s not like it’s completely dark, but he hopes the lamp makes it through the rest of the night anyway.

Beside Minho is an old cooler he’d borrowed from his parents, that they’d filled with ice and beer bought on a convenient store run they had made while Changbin went and ordered a box of fried wings from the chicken restaurant just across the street.

“Cold chicken and beer, huh,” Woojin comments once Minho starts handing out cans of now ice cold beer.

“Don’t complain when we all know you’ll eat it anyway,” Minho cajoles, already casually popping the tab of his own beer can. “If you don’t want the cold chicken, then here—” He tosses a bag of chips at Woojin, which he catches only to hand it over to Changbin instead.

“Let me at that delicious fried poultry,” He calls out, not even really waiting before he’s leaning over and picking a piece out of the box. “Stating things isn’t always the same as complaining.”

  
  
  
  
  


10.59 PM

“Okay, at this point, I think we’ve all had just about enough alcohol in our systems to get to the real talk,” Woojin declares.

“We’ve barely been drinking for an hour,” Minho points out. “What, are we all suddenly Han Jisung?” The little comment earns a round of laughter, and at the back of his head, Woojin faintly wonders if Jisung’s choking on his own spit right now because of it. 

“But really,” Woojin tries again, even though he knows better - at most each of them has had only one to two cans each, and that, coupled with an inordinate amount of chicken wings, is not enough to get any of them the least bit sloshed. Still, he chooses to ignore Minho’s comment, and just takes a quick swig off his beer can before fixing his gaze on Chan. “How are you doing, man?” 

Both Minho and Changbin actually trail off into silence as they join Woojin in giving Chan cautious glances - which, now Woojin realises is probably not the best idea on their part, because Chan is suddenly looking quite flustered. He blinks in confusion, shifting his gaze from Woojin to Changbin to Minho. 

“What—?” He laughs, but Woojin can hear how forced it sounds. 

No one else says anything, at least until Chan finally lets out a resigned sigh. “I’m fine, you guys,” he assures them, smiling just enough that the dimple on his left cheek makes an appearance. 

None of them are particularly convinced, especially not Woojin. It’s true that they don't see as much of each other as they used to, not since they all graduated from high school, but he’d like to think that he still knows his friends pretty well. It’s only been a week from the time that Chan had messaged their group chat a short and very succinct, ‘Sana and I broke up,’ and as far as he knows that guy hasn’t really elaborated or really talked about it to anyone else since.

“I mean, obviously I’ve been better, but it’s not the end of the world,” Chan quickly adds, as if to try and be more convincing.

Chan had met his now ex-girlfriend during his first year of university, at some unnecessary humanities class he’d enlisted in just to round out his credits. Sana was a cute Japanese girl, but even with the language barrier, she knew how to communicate her intentions well enough - according to Chan, she was that one who’d started flirting with him first, when all he had been trying to do was help her out in class. The first time Sana was introduced to their group of friends, no one really thought it was a relationship that would last, but they’d ended up dating for a little over a year, long enough for everyone - long enough for Woojin, at least - to start second guessing their initial impressions of her; well, until Chan had recently updated them with his dating status.

“Hyung,” Changbin sounds a little uncertain, but he pushes through with his question anyway. “Why  _ did _ you break up, exactly?”

Chan takes a lengthy swig off his beer can, and then he lets out a low, self-deprecating laugh, crushing the now empty can in his hand, after he’s done. “I have no idea, actually,” he admits. He sounds sad, but even so, he keeps a smile on his face - Woojin is more than aware that this is a habit that he has. He hates having other people, not even his friends, worry about him, that he puts on a front. The problem is that he’s always so obvious about it, and he never fools anyone. “She told me I was great,” Chan continues, “But that it just wasn’t working out anymore. I think she just got bored?”

“Sorry, hyung,” Changbin tells him his tone solemn as he pops another beer can open to hand over to the older.

“Girls suck—” Woojin begins, only to laugh halfway through because he’s sure everyone in their little group knows he doesn’t mean it. “Or not, but this one, definitely.”

“Oh, girls suck alright, they suck—” Minho starts to comment, only to have Woojin quickly elbow him  _ hard. _

“Don’t even think of finishing that sentence now,” Woojin warns him sternly.

“I mean, I was going to say that boys can  _ suck _ too,” Minho quickly adds anyway, snickering, and his eyes glinting mischievously.

“For fucks sake, hyung, shut up!” Changbin groans, but then Chan actually starts laughing, and Minho is beaming with pride about having caused  _ that. _

“Heh,” Minho smirks, and leans over so he can clink his drink can against Chan’s. “But while we’re on this topic, can I be honest?”

“If I say no, will that stop you?” Chan asks.

“Probably not, but I would have considered it,” Minho admits, laughing.

Chan shakes his head and gestures for Minho to continue. 

“So,” Minho goes on, all eyes on him now. “Remember that one time my friend Dahyun and I ran into you and your ex? I’m pretty sure that Sana was checking my friend out.”

Minho is met with resounding silence, and Woojin feels the need to elbow him again. “Not helping,” he hisses.

“Would that mean everyone around me is gay?” Chan asks, and there’s something about his tone that’s humorously self-deprecating that it causes a round of snorts among the four of them.

“Oi!” Woojin counters, punching Chan playfully. “What’s my existence then?!”

Minho snorts, and Changbin sniggers. “Maybe it’s a sign that you both should consider switching teams,” he retorts.

It earns Changbin chips thrown at his face, but everyone, Chan included, is laughing loudly.

  
  
  
  
  


11.24 PM

Chan’s phone starts loudly ringing in the middle of Woojin telling them all about the recent conversation he’d had with Felix (something about their younger friend settling in back home in Australia, while his sisters tried to take over shopping for him, and his university necessities), and it surprises them all.

“It’s almost midnight, who’s calling you at this hour, hyung?” Changbin asks, casually leaning over to try and take a peek at Chan’ mobile screen. “Jamie?” He manages to read before Chan is able to move his phone away.

He excuses himself from the group, and gets up so he can walk away. few meters to continue his phone conversation in hushed tones, out of hearing reach from the rest of them.

“Who’s Jamie?” Changbin asks curiously,

“Isn’t it that girl— Jimin,” Woojin recalls. “That friend he always talks about. I think they’re working on a term paper together.”

“Oh, I’ve met her,” Changbin nods, as it dawns on him who the caller is.

“I’m pretty sure we all have,” Woojin says. “She was there for Chan’s birthday last year.”

“Yeah, I remember her,” Minho agrees. “She’s kind of… annoying,” he adds, just as Chan rejoins them.

“ _ You’re _ kind of annoying,” Woojin replies, as Chan lowers himself to sit down between the two of them.

“Sure,” Minho laughs, clearly unbothered by the comment. “But as I was saying—” and this time, he looks at Chan squarely, “—I’m also pretty sure she’s into you.”

“Huh?” He looks confused, like he doesn’t even know what or who they’re talking about. 

“Nothing,” Minho answers, the corners of his lips turned up in a knowing smirk. “I just thought it was something you should be made aware of.”

“Huh?” Chan repeats, and the only answer he gets is even more laughter from the rest.

“Was it an important call?” Woojin asks, handing Chan his drink again.

Chan shrugs and takes a quick sip of beer. “It was just James asking about this project we’re doing together,” he explains. “And I guess she was being as nosy as you guys— asking if I’m doing alright. I told her I was with my idiot friends, and that she shouldn’t worry so much.”

“See—” Minho pipes up, for some reason looking quite smug. “Should I repeat what I was saying earlier?”

“No, not really,” Chan tries to answer him in a deadpan manner, but it doesn’t really work because he laughs right after his delivery. “Maybe we should stop talking about me for a second, and we can focus on you all instead. It’s hard being the center of attention, you know.” He talks like he’s joking, but the way he turns and fixes his gaze on Woojin shows that he’s genuinely ready to take the spotlight off himself.

“What— why me!” Woojin snorts. “My life’s boring, I’m just busy with school,” he declares.

“And maybe that’s exactly why we should focus on you,” Minho scoffs. “Time to get a life, Woojinnie. Who’s got a friend they can set him up with?”

“Geez, I have a life— dating isn’t everything!”

“No one said anything about  _ dating _ ,” Changbin points out. “But! It’s also  _ something _ especially if you find the right person _. _ ”

Everyone turns to him at the comment, and Woojin gawks at him because did  _ Changbin really just—? _ He shrugs, and smirks, and suddenly they’re all cracking up with laughter again.

“Keep your gross lovey-dovey feelings to yourself, Changbinnie,” Minho retorts, knee bumping against Changbin’s on purpose.

“You’re one to talk! You think I haven’t counted how many times tonight you’ve mentioned Ji—” Changbin is all set to have another bickering back and forth, but Chan is quick to interrupt this time.

“If these two idiots start arguing about who is more disgustingly in love with their boyfriends, then okay—” He laughs, lifting his beer can in the air as if to toast, “—I’m willing to talk about my broken heart again.”

That silences both Minho and Changbin, but it only takes a second before Woojin bursts into laughter, and when Chan joins him a beat later, it doesn’t take long until Minho and Changbin follow suit.

  
  
  
  
  


11.58 PM

“You’re looking really red and drunk,” Minho tells Changbin, teetering as he tickles the younger’s chin.

The latter squawks coarsely and tries to swat Minho’s hand away. “Shut up, hyung, you’re not much better,” he counters, even though in the end he gives in and just lets Minho continue to poke at his chin.

“The two of you haven’t shut up all evening,” Woojin points out, sounding more resigned than anything.

“Well, someone’s gotta keep the party going,” Changbin remarks; and then he holds up a hand right before he lets out a loud, obnoxious burp.

“Fuck—” Beside him, Minho is laughing and fanning his hand. “Your breath smells rank.”

“You know what I’ve been thinking?” Chan speaks up, and whatever comeback Changbin had for Minho is lost as they all turn to look at him, because that’s just how it is whenever Chan says something in the tone he’s using in that moment - soft, but stern. Woojin actually notices a slight slur in his words, but it’s easily overlooked by the other two. “If Minho and Changbin do a trust fall, they’re going to fucking fail.”

Woojin snorts; suddenly he’s thinking that maybe he shouldn’t have ignored that slurring because that, for sure, wasn’t what any of them expected when he tried to get their attention by speaking so seriously.

“Trust what?” Changbin snorts. “Is that the shit you guys used to do in student government?”

“Challenge accepted!” Minho declares, even though Woojin isn’t even sure he  _ knows _ what that it is. He isn’t usually  _ this _ loud and gung ho about a lot of things, which is also how Woojin figures that alcohol has definitely begun to affect Minho.

“The two of you arguing who’s more drunk when I’m sure you’re both just big idiots,” Woojin comments, partly amused and partly exasperated.

“Challenge accepted,” Minho repeats anyway, already getting up to his feet and stepping off the tiny blanket and onto the sand. 

“Get up there, then,” Chan snickers, giving Changbin a gentle nudge. 

“I didn’t say I was up for this,” Changbin complains, but even so, he’s following along and standing up to join Minho.

It turns out that Woojin is right, and neither of them are even aware how trust falls work, and Chan has to instruct them in great detail what they need to do. Woojin, for his part, just sits back and watches, snickering to himself because he knows that this, if anything, will at least be entertaining.

“Minho should do the falling,” is Woojin’s only contribution to the madness.

“Wait— wait,” Minho is laughing, but he actually looks uncharacteristically nervous. “Changbinnie’s too drunk to do this, isn’t he?” He declares, looking over his shoulder to check on the other, who is already standing behind him, poised and ready to catch Minho in his arms.

“Oi,” Changbin grunts. “You scared, hyung?”

“No—” Minho argues,  _ still _ laughing. He glances at both Woojin and Chan, “Maybe I should do the catching. Binnie’s too small to be on the receiving end!”

“This is no use,” Changbin declares, and this time it’s him who turns to look at Chan and Woojin who both are looking like this enjoying this way too much. “He’s too  _ scared.” _

“I’m not—!” Minho yells, a little too loudly. “Fine! Here I come—”

Woojin takes a quick, sideways peek at Chan who has his eyes glued to the scene unfolding in front of them. He seems to really be enjoying himself, so Woojin’s thankful that this trip at least seems to be succeeding in its original intent of making Chan feel better.

He watches as Minho takes a deep breath and folds both arms across his chest. He keeps taking quick looks over his shoulder, at Changbin, that it’s almost comical. 

“Here I come,” he mumbles, teeth digging into his bottom lip as he slowly allows himself to fall back - except he second guesses himself at the last second, and his body naturally jerks forward. His hesitation comes a little too late, and he ends up losing his balance, arms flailing as he tips backwards straight into Changbin’s arms anyway.

Woojin and Chan are both doubling over with laughter, but what’s amazing is that Changbin actually manages to catch Minho. 

“Who’s the winner now?” Changbin preens, as he tries to keep Minho steady.

“This isn’t a contest!” Chan wheezes while Woojin lets out hoots and cheers.

And then for some reason (maybe it's because of his drunk laughing, that's what Woojin would bet on), Changbin loses his footing anyway, and suddenly both of them are toppling over, and falling on top of each other on the sand.

“Fuck,” Changbin groans, because  _ of course _ he ends up on the bottom. “Hyung is heavy,” he complains while struggling to push a loud, giggling Minho off himself.

  
  
  
  
  


12.39 AM

Woojin thinks it’s funny how time starts to move slowly once it’s after midnight, because loud laughter and constant bickering now feels like they happened hours ago, instead of barely half an hour earlier. Or, he considers, maybe the alcohol has truly seeped into their systems. The younger half of their friend group have always been the loud drunks, so it makes sense that without them it’s a bit more peaceful.

“It’s quiet without the kids,” Chan suddenly speaks up, as if he read Woojin’s thoughts.

“Kids, he says,” Changbin snorts. “Like we’re that much older than them.”

Minho smirks, and digs his elbow into Changbin’s side. “He talks like he doesn’t miss the kids the most.”

“It's not that at all! Its just funny to call them that,” Changbin snorts and knocks a knee against Minho’s. “You seriously calling your boyfriend a kid, right now? He’s usually the noisiest one, too.”

“I mean—” Minho laughs. “Can’t deny that. You know when he and the others went to Busan a couple of weeks ago, he called me in the middle of the night, all drunk - definitely loud.”

“So what I’m hearing here is - you miss him,” Changbin teases, a knowing grin decorating his features.

“Fuck off,” Minho answers, but he doesn’t really counter Changbin’s statement.

“I mean, if you guys want, I’ll shout into the ocean how much I miss Hyunjin—” Changbin continues, clearly just messing around now.

“Fuck off—” This time it’s Woojin saying it, and Changbin can only laugh because he totally knew that this was the kind of response he was going to get the moment he let those words leave his tongue.

Minho hums, finally leaving Changbin alone as he stretches his legs out ahead of him; instead, he steers the conversation towards an adjacent topic. “Jisung and I are planning on telling our parents about us this weekend.”

All eyes turn to him; even Woojin, who already had a vague idea that this was in the couple’s plans, is surprised. 

“We want to move in together before the year ends,” Minho continues, “The place I have is closer to his university, and we figured it would be best to be honest about everything if we're doing that.”

Minho has mentioned this to Woojin before, but he didn’t realise that it was going to happen so soon, and suddenly it dawns on him that Minho needed this night, just as much as Chan did.

“I’m worried,” Minho admits quietly, looking down at his hands as he continues to talk. One corner of his mouth is turned up in  nervous yet bittersweet smile. “I’m worried about what my parents will say, but more than that, I’m worried how  _ Jisung’s  _ parents will react.”

Changbin is quiet, and Woojin thinks he knows the younger well enough to deduce that he’s probably wondering about his own situation, and how he will probably need to deal with something similar sooner or later.

“You think it’ll be bad?” Chan asks, worry lines now etched across his forehead.

“I have a funny feeling in my gut,” Minho admits softly, and Woojin thinks that this is the most vulnerable he’s been around them all, at least not since they were little kids. “But I don’t want to tell Jisung,” he explains with a quiet chuckle. “He thinks  _ he’s _ distracting me from being worried about  _ my _ parents, and I think I’d prefer it like this, instead of him worrying needlessly when I could very well be wrong in the end.”

“Jisung isn’t actually a  _ kid, _ you know,” Woojin points out, his eyes meeting Minho’s.

“I know,” Minho admits after a pause. “But I guess I just want to save him the grief, until he actually  _ has _ to face it.”

  
  
  
  
  


12.57 AM

“You know, I still remember when I first met Minho-hyung,” Changbin reminisces. “I want to say he was less of a pain in the ass back then but then I’d be lying.”

“Yah—!” Minho reaches over to give Changbin a particularly loud and thumpy  _ pat _ on the back, which causes Changbin to lean away, wide-eyed even as he laughs.

“It’s true!” He argues. “He was new in town, but suddenly he was bossing us around!”

“Not my fault Jisungie made me leader,” Minho pointed out.

“It wasn’t in his power to do that!”

“I seem to recall you giving in your control of the three stooges pretty easily.”

“You were older than me—”

Minho laughs, “And there you go. It’s not my fault I was born ten months before you were!”

“Sometimes, I wonder if it’s a good, or bad thing that I sat next to Minho that first day of grade school,” Chan ponders out loud.

“I vote bad,” Woojin jokes. “Our life would probably have been much more fruitful if we’d never befriended Minho and his merry band of idiots.”

“I mean if you want to lead a boring life, then be my guest,” Minho claims. “But I’m pretty sure you’re living your best life because it has me in it.”

“And me,” Changbin volunteers.

“Sure,” Minho laughs, arm now slung comfortably around Changbin’s shoulder. “Him too. And I guess the rest of the twerps who aren’t here - I guess maybe they kinda count too.”

“You guess,” Changbin repeats, almost mockingly.

“I guess!” Minho agrees, laughing even more.

“You two fools keep bickering when this is the sappiest the four of us are ever gonna get with each other,” Chan laments.

“This is kinda weird,” Woojin contends, “Especially when you put it like that.”

“Shut up, and let me say I love you all,” Chan interjects.

A second of silence passes - and then Woojin starts snickering.

“Love you too, hyung,” Changbin answers, grinning.

“Are we all supposed to hug now?” Minho asks.

“Maybe we can do without that,” Woojin answers, almost a little too quickly.

“Aww Woojinnie,” Chan teases, one arm going around Woojin. “Hugs are nice!”

  
  
  
  
  


02.23 AM

Chan’s phone lets out a bright flash  _ and _ a loud shutter noise after he snaps a picture, and Woojin has to hold back laughter as he hits his friend on the arm. “Why didn’t you turn at least the sounds off?” He hisses, and Chan himself has to clamp a hand over his mouth so as to not let his own laughter escape. “You almost woke them up!”

“I’m sorry—” He whispers, handing over his phone to Woojin anyway to share the digital photograph.

They’ve all decided that it would be best to try and get some rest in the car, but it’s Minho and Changbin who are seated in the backseat, huddled close and leaning against each other while their soft snores mixed together. Luckily, the most that happens despite the loud snapping noise, is Changbin grunting lowly as he adjusts his head so that it’s more comfortably resting on Minho’s shoulder.

“Cute,” Chan observes, chuckling as Woojin squints at the picture of the two displayed on the phone screen. “Should I send it to their boyfriends?”

Woojin snorts, and nods initially while returning the gadget to the other. “I’m sure Jisung and Hyunjin will get a kick out of this— oh, but wait!” Another idea passes through his thoughts just as Chan is about to hit the send button on his messenger app. “Maybe save it for later - it’s kinda good blackmail material.”

Chan coughs back a chortle, but he does pocket his phone for now. “We should probably try and get some shut-eye too,” he surmises, shifting in his seat as he adjusts the inclination of the back of the passenger seat.

Woojin mirrors the action, and for a couple of minutes, it’s quiet in the car save for the sound of light snoring and tired breathing coming from the two in the back.

“You know,” Woojin’s voice is really quiet when he tries to start up conversation again, “That’s the first time I’ve seen Minho  _ that _ drunk.”

Chan chuckles - just as Woojin had expected, he was still very much awake. “I think he holds back because he feels like someone needs to take care of Jisung’s lightweight ass.”

“I think you do that a lot with us,” Woojin finds himself saying, and he thinks they’re both aware that he isn’t exactly talking about alcohol anymore. “You hold back a lot because you think someone needs to be responsible.”

Chan goes silent, and even in the dark - the only illumination in the car coming from faint moonlight shining through the windows - Woojin notices his expression go tense for a brief moment.

“I hate worrying people,” he admits, after a few seconds.

“I think that’s a big issue we have among everyone in this group,” Woojin clicks his tongue. “No one wants to worry everyone else, but— I hope you understand that you need to be able to talk to someone about things that are on your mind.” He pauses, takes a deep, quiet breath, and then he continues, “Like me. You can always talk to me, Chan.”

“I—,” Chan sighs. “Theoretically, I know that. We all grew up together, and I trust all of you, but— and I don’t mean this passive aggressively, but I guess sometimes I feel like you and Minho already have each other to turn to for the heavier stuff?”

Woojin can’t deny what Chan is saying, because it’s mostly true. Even this entire impromptu, sad excuse for a road trip had been brainstormed by him and Minho. Looking back, as much as he gives Minho shit for things he says, or does, it’s always been easy for him to rely on Minho when the going gets tough. He feels a little guilty, because when they were younger, he and Chan had started out as  _ the  _ pair of best friends.

“I think that’s because Minho actually  _ goes to me _ for advice,” he voices out, the realisation coming to him just now. “So I feel like I can do the same with him. You can count on me too though, because friendship isn’t an exclusive thing. Besides—,” Woojin laughs, in his own way trying to lighten up the suddenly heavy atmosphere. “—we’re the only two straight bros here, we gotta have each other’s backs, right?”

Chan actually laughs at that, a little too loudly maybe, because Minho suddenly shifts and frets in his sleep. Panicked, Chan and Woojin both freeze and turn to look behind them, only to release synchronized sighs of relief when Minho resumes his quiet snoring.

“I’m pretty sure you can count on those two idiots too,” Woojin assures Chan, a small smile gracing his features when he turns to look at Chan again. “You know it was actually Minho who pointed out that you haven’t said much to us about what happened, and then he insisted we try and cheer you up this weekend - even though, apparently, he has other worries going on in his life right now.”

“And Changbin,” he goes on, “He dropped everything to hang out with us, even on such short notice - I’m pretty sure it’s because he was worried about you, too, and only a true friend would do that. He’s younger than us, and sometimes he acts like a kid - especially when the younger ones are around, but he’s more mature than people give him credit for.”

Chan is quiet for a while, but Woojin can practically hear the gears in his head turning as he processes everything that Woojin has just laid out for him.

“You’re right,” he says finally, sighing as he leans back in his seat. “I guess I just got used to keeping everything to myself - but I’ll try harder to be more open with you all. We all deserve that kind of friendship.”

  
  
  
  
  


12.08 PM

“Are you sure you’re good to drive, hyung?” Changbin asks - a little fruitlessly though, considering Woojin is already about to exit into the freeway.

“I’m perfectly sober and awake, don’t worry,” Woojin attests. “Even a breathalyzer would tell you the same.”

“No one actually has a breathalyzer in this car,” Minho points out.

“I’m hungry,” Changbin declares instead. 

“This suddenly feels like deja vu,” Chan says, laughing. “This feels like it’s about to be eerily similar to the conversation we had on the way out here.”

“It’s past noon, give me a break, hyung,” Changbin grunts. “It’s lunch time!”

“Don’t we have leftover chips, or bread from last night?” Woojin asks, glancing at Minho through the rear view mirror - he’s stuck in the backseat now, because Chan has claimed shotgun for the ride back home.

“Here,” Minho shoves a piece of gum onto Changbin’s palm. “We’ll stop by at a Lotteria before we go home.”

“We really should plan better next time,” Woojin muses.

“Are we assuming there’s a next time?” Minho asks, wincing a bit as he massages his temple with his fingers. “Been a while since I’ve felt this shitty after a night of drinking.”

“Definitely voting for a next time,” Chan volunteers, and he sounds a lot chipper compared to anyone else in the car. “Thanks for this, you guys,” he continues, exchanging a quick look with Woojin, before he turns and looks at Minho and Changbin. “I had fun.”

Minho and Changbin look at each other, and exchange smiles - suddenly, their complaints don’t seem as urgent now.

“Okay, we’ll definitely have a next time, then,” Minho nods, grinning.

“Let’s go somewhere better than Busan,” Changbin declares. “We need to outclass the kids—”

“Now  _ you’re _ calling them kids,” Minho tries to interrupt, but Changbin just laughs, and ignores him.

“I vote for Jeju Island,” Changbin says. “Or we can go for broke, and actually choose somewhere out of the country. “

“Or maybe it doesn’t matter where, and let’s just say that next time we  _ all _ go together,” Chan suggests simply. “All nine of us, Jeongin included.”

A pause, a beat - and then Woojin speaks up, a wide grin adorning his lips.

“Sounds like a plan.”

  
  
  
  
  


fin.

**Author's Note:**

> [ 4 ] His girlfriends were a bit like easter eggs before in that they were just mentioned in passing (but I definitely had faces in mind, even before), but they’re sort of a part of the (flimsy lol) plot here, so yeah, Chan’s in between girlfriends in this one - the one mentioned in [Run, Running Ahead](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16102355), and the one mentioned in [Lessons in Yearning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16385126).
> 
> [ 5 ] I’m pretty sure I have a few more ideas set in this universe, so I’m going to stop saying I’m done with it, lmao.
> 
> [ 6 ] Feedback (comments, kudos, etc.) is always much appreciated. Thank you for reaching the end of the fic. ♥
> 
> [ 7 ] [@rainsoundsmp3](http://twitter.com/rainsoundsmp3)


End file.
